


Roommates?

by iwilltry_tocarryon



Category: Revolution (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-12 01:43:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3339209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwilltry_tocarryon/pseuds/iwilltry_tocarryon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, Charlie finds herself crashing at her uncle's best friend's house for awhile after getting kicked out of her own apartment. (This will probably have 3 or 4 chapters depending, just a short little AU about them living together as roommates and dealing with every day things.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"I love Charlie and I'd do anything for her, but I don't think I can live with Nora and Charlie both. Under one roof. Those two co-conspirators are worse than her and Danny. It took me months to get that damn glitter out of my hair, and I swear I still see it reflecting in the light."

Bass covered his mouth in an attempt to smother his snort. Miles saw and sent a glare in his direction. 

Nodding, Bass replied, "Sure she can stay with me."

There was a hesitation in his tone, not that he minded at all if she stayed. He was just notorious for bringing women home and now he felt like he had to become a monk while she was there. Of course, Miles knew everything about him and he seemed to be okay with it. 

Clapping a large hand on his shoulder, Miles let out a sigh of relief, "thanks brother, I really appreciate it. I know you haven't seen her since she was a kid, but don't worry, she's still just as annoyingly bratty as always."

Bass chuckled thinking about the many times Charlie convinced Miles to do something that, almost always, got his ass in trouble. Miles was just bitter and too wrapped around her finger. 

"No problem brutha," Bass took a long swig of his beer. "You know I'd do anything for Ben and Rachel."

Purposefully leaving out his name, Bass grinned when Miles flipped him off, "jerk."

"Bitch."

After a few moments, and many beers later, Bass looked over to Miles, "so when is she coming again?"

Checking his phone, screen lighting up the underside of his face, he saw it was already 11. 

"Said she'd be here around 11:30," he muttered, typing in a response to her before he forgot. She might need to know where they were. 

Bass nodded though Miles wasn't looking, "okay cool."

It must've been the way he said it because Miles’ head snapped up, "seriously Bass I really appreciate this. I know how much personal space means to you. I swear she won't be there long, just until she finds a place."

He was already shaking his head and holding a hand out to halt him, "honestly Miles, it's no problem. I have an extra room getting no use, just collecting dust. If she's anything like you...she'll be a pain in my ass. But at least she'll be a pretty pain in my ass."

Bass laughed, only mildly joking. 

Miles however pointed a threatening finger in his direction, "none of that funny business shit Bass, this is my niece. Plus she hates womanizers so you don't stand a chance. She's too smart for you and you’re definitely not her type."

"Pfft I'm everyone's type."

Miles’ face screamed unamused, "all that and that's what you picked up on?"

He rolled his eyes at his friend's pathetic paternal figure speech, "no Miles I heard everything, and you should know me well enough to know I wouldn't go after your niece. Shit, she's what, half my age?"

Miles nodded, "yeah I'm sorry man. It's just Charlie, you know how I get. Kid's the closest thing I have to one of my own."

Sending a small smile, all reassuring words fell dead on his lips when a hot, young blonde sauntered into the bar. Damn. Every fiber of his body tingled as he watched the way her hips pivoted up and down with every step she took, and the way her long hair hung loosely down the side of her body. She had the most perfect set of perky, round tits, shirt hanging dangerously low enough to give everyone in there a peek at just how glorious her breasts were.

She was a fucking wet dream.

Feeling a hard thump on the back of his head, Bass swiveled around in his seat to glare at Miles, "what the fuck man?"

"Um, what the fuck is right. You're lucky I stopped you ogling my niece when I did. I'm pretty sure, if babies could be made from eye fucking you would've made some right there," he dryly commented. 

Again, all he heard from the conversation were the words 'my niece.'

He remembered Charlotte as a child and always swore she was going to be a beautiful thing. He just didn't realize she was going to be a goddamn heartbreaking, show stopper. 

Musing so long, he didn't notice when she was at their table, smile tugging the corners of her plump lips upwards. 

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Miles smirked in her direction

She playfully rolled her eyes, "please, you're lucky I graced you with my presence when I did."

Shit, she was identical to Miles, sarcastic, witty banter and all. And she was a goddamn goddess. Bass was so fucking screwed. 

"You know I'm never on time for anything, plus it was hard tearing myself away from the enthralling topics of my wasted potential at the weekly family roasting—I mean dinner."

Miles sighed in sympathy, "same thing as last week?"

Charlie's nodded, "and the week before that. And the week before that. So I'm used to it by now, plus it gives me a chance to see Danny."

“How is he?”

“He’s good, still as annoying as ever,” she teased, her face lighting up when Danny was mentioned.

Miles laughed, “gee wonder where he gets it from?”

“Well according to dad, it’s your negative influence on me that has inevitably rubbed off on Danny. Therefore, it’s your fault.”

Thinking about it for a few minutes, Miles nodded to himself, grinning like an idiot, “sounds about right. Glad to see my legacy is continuing on to the next generation.”

Charlie snorted, “yeah your legacy of drinking way too much and saying a lot of stupid shit.”

“Oh, stupid shit reminds me,” Miles motioned to Bass who remained silent, watching uncle and niece interaction. “Kid you remember Bass right?”

She looked at him thoughtfully before slowly, hesitantly nodding a couple times, “vaguely, although something about a crab keeps popping up into my mind.”

At that Bass laughed, “Yeah you used to call me crabby,” her perplexed expression prompted him to continue, “Because my name’s Sebastian.”

Bright lights flashed in her mind, “now I remember,” she stuck her hand out, “well regardless it’s nice to see you again. Thanks for letting me crash with you since Miles doesn’t want me.”

Bass took her hand firmly in between his, reveling in the warmth from her body as he heard Miles groan from behind him.

“You know that isn’t true at all Charlie, I really wouldn’t mind you staying. And if you didn’t have any other option you KNOW I wouldn’t let you live out in the street—“

Letting go of Bass’ hand, she held her hands up, “jeez Miles, I was just kidding, lighten up. No need to go off on a tangent, I know you love me…who wouldn’t?”

Choosing not to allow him a retort, she turned to Bass, “are you ready to go or?”

He reigned in a wave of shock before nodding, standing up and pulling on his leather jacket. He assumed she was taking Miles home too, but apparently it would just be the two of them. It was stupid to be nervous about it, especially since she would be living with him for awhile. But the thought of her body closely confined next to his in a small car put him on edge. He was never good with self-control or restraint.

Hugging Miles goodbye, Charlie crossed the floor of the bar first, waiting for Bass to say his goodbyes before joining her outside. Quietly they walked side by side, Bass letting Charlie take the lead, not knowing what she drove.

She led them to a car, only indicating it was hers with a jerk of her head. Bass complied, shutting the door softly when he sat down in the passenger’s seat. 

He couldn’t take the silence for too long, not when he was used to Miles, “so…how’s everything?”

Lightly smirking, she barely turned her head to the side, curiously looking at him before focusing her eyes back on the road.

“You don’t have to make small, awkward car ride conversation. I’m really grateful for the place to stay, but don’t feel like you owe me anything because I’m Miles’ niece.”

“I don’t, I was just making conversation. Not a big fan of silence. But you’re welcome, I didn’t just do this for Miles, you needed a place to stay and I have a house that’s too silent, too empty. It could work out in both of our favors.”

There was a tone Charlie was unsure of as his voice grew quieter. It sounded, deep, husky even. Of course, Miles did warn her about his reputation, and at first Charlie was disgusted and annoyed. She was never into guys who thought they could have any woman they wanted, but upon seeing Bass she knew he didn’t think he could, he knew he could have any woman. And with good reason as far as Charlie was concerned.

Two could play at that game, “well I’m glad to be of any service.”

She jokingly threw a wink as Bass roared with laughter. She was actually play flirting with him. She could dish it out as well as she could take it, obviously hanging around Miles’ shit talking friends for too long.

“No offense kid, but Miles would have my balls, and I quite like them where they are at. Plus you aren’t really my type,” the lie rolled smoothly off his lips. Honestly, Charlie was every man’s type. Fuck, every person’s type. He just thought maybe if he said it out loud, he would believe it.

She tried to let the comment roll off her shrugging shoulders, “suit yourself.”

She followed his directions until they were parked outside his house, porch light barely illuminating the walkway.

Twisting around in the car, Bass held his breath when her shirt slid up her tanned, toned stomach as she fumbled around for the bag in the backseat of her car. Victoriously, she pulled it around front just in time to miss Bass’ arm as he climbed out of the car. 

He was already halfway up the stairs and in the house before she crossed the threshold. It was too cramped in the car for both Bass and his raging hard on.

Flipping on the lights, he waited until she sat her bags down before locking up the door behind her. Nervous habit he picked up.

“The bedroom is right there,” he extended a finger in the direction of a closed door, then turned to his right side, pointing at another door, “this is the bathroom.”

She nodded, picking her bag up and putting on her signature, playful smirk, “you forgot to show me the most important room?”

His brows furrowed, racking his brain for an answer. Clearly she could see the kitchen and living room from where they were standing, what more could see need?

“Where’s your room?”

He wanted to carry her caveman style to his room instead of answering her, but he figured Miles might frown upon that. Instead he opted for the moral high ground, “smooth kid, real smooth.”

He chuckled, turning on his heels, not waiting for her to answer. He could feel the smile on her face faltering for a second on his backside. Turning around before he entered the room, he found the spot Charlie had previously been occupying empty, and the door to her room firmly closed.

Bass sighed, scrubbing his face with one hand as he lightly kicked his door closed. That woman was going to be the literal death of him if he couldn’t get his hormones under control. He felt like a damn, horny teenager. He just needed to get laid, quick.


	2. Two

For the most part Charlie and Bass hardly ever saw one another for the first week. There would be occasions they would pass by one another in the hallway, and Charlie would sashay by him as Bass pretended to be looking at anything other than her short shorts.

Charlie openly made her sentiments known, lightly touching his body, pressing herself dangerously close to him every chance encounter, she even resorted to wearing as little as possible to bed. But after the first week of that and no response, she took it as a sign he wasn’t interested, plus it was too exhausting to keep up the charade.

School was starting to stress her out even more than she thought possible, dumping research paper after research paper on her already full platter. It was hard enough balancing different classes, throw in a job helping out her friend at a local gym, and it was almost impossible. 

She had no idea how people balanced more than this. She felt like a seal on top of a chair, on top of a ball, balancing plates on her nose, while surrounded by a ring of fire. 

Pushing the door open, she felt a wave of dread pass through her body when she saw extra shoes and coats sitting inside. And not just anybody’s, but a woman in particular, which she couldn’t really complain about. This was his house, and she knew he often had women spending the night.

Just, why did it have to be this night?

She already had a throbbing headache and multiple papers to write, the last thing she needed was to hear them going at it like fucking rabbits all night. 

Shutting the door loudly, alerting the two on the couch of her presence, the girl giggled loudly in Bass’ ear as Charlie suppressed the urge to gag. Rolling her eyes, she dropped off her coat and shoes, not bothering to stop at the kitchen before she made a beeline straight for her room.

Before shutting the door, she barely heard the girl’s angry, pathetic voice huffing out, “who the hell is she?”

She closed the door firmly not waiting for his reply, hoping to God they would leave eventually because the obnoxious giggling and the sounds of them making out was seeping under the crack of her door.

After an hour or so, she heard shuffling of feet and the shutting of another door. Letting out a loud sigh of relief, she switched from playing on the computer to doing her schoolwork. 

Flipping her history book open, she dove right in to the researching and was able to get quite a bit of information jotted down. She was never really one for history, but at least one history class was required for every major and her friend told her this one was easier than the other choices. She opted for easier instead of European history, which sounded only mildly more interesting than American. 

On a roll, she felt confident about this paper. It would be no problem getting it done, but that’s when the sounds started to multiply and flow throughout the entire house.

At first she wasn’t sure what she was hearing, but when her ears strained of their own accord, she recognized the sound of piercing, gritty moans.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Muttering to herself, she groaned dramatically as she flopped back against her bed. Snatching a pillow, she tried to smother the sounds of squeaky girl’s voice fluttering all around, along with Bass’ primal grunts. Mixed in, Charlie could roughly hear the sound of the bed pounding against the wall at a steady pace, before picking up, more erratic.

As much as it turned her on to think about Bass in that context, she couldn’t stand hearing the girl’s voice as she cried out in pleasure. 

Why the fuck did they have to be so loud?

She hoped it would be over after they finished this round. She could suffer through it once, but half an hour later when she heard it again, she repeated the process: groan, flop, smother.

Fuck, okay, two times was more than she wanted to hear someone having sex, but three times? That was fucking excessive, especially in only an hour’s time. Once round three began Charlie finally snapped, at her wits end.

Flinging the door of her room open, she didn’t even flinch when it rebounded against the wall, and she was pretty fucking sure they couldn’t hear a damn thing.

Before she could talk herself out of it, her fist rose and started banging against his door.

“What the hell does she want, ugh,” Charlie rolled her eyes upon hearing squeaky girl’s breathless, annoying voice penetrating through the crack of the door. 

Feet shuffling, the door flew open to reveal a half dressed Bass, naked from the waist up, “yes Charlotte, I’m a little busy at the moment so make it fast.”

“Yes, I know you’re busy,” she spat, “the whole fucking neighborhood knows you’re quite busy—“

“Green isn’t a good color on you,” he interjected which only fueled Charlie’s anger.

“I’m not jealous I’m fucking annoyed. I’ve had to listen to you two fuck, three times now, “ she held up three fingers for emphasis. 

“I understand you have needs or whatever, but could you at least try to keep it down? I’m actually trying to do schoolwork. I get that this is your house,” she sarcastically threw in, but he cut her off before she could continue.

“Exactly, this is MY house, and I should be able to do what I want, as loud as I want. I’m not going to become some kind of fucking monk because I was nice enough to let you stay here when your boyfriend threw your ass out,” he barked at her, instantly regretting his choice of words and his tone when she physically flinched back.

The fire returned to her eyes hastily, “fine.”

She turned on her heels, all but stomping back to her room. Bass closed the door, going back to waiting woman on his bed, but he was waiting to hear her door slam like an angry, pissed off teenager. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate until then.

Upon hearing another door slam, the front door to be exact, he huffed, tearing himself away from the whiny woman underneath him.

“Dammit,” he murmured, running a hand through his messy, unruly hair as he quickly threw his pants on to stop Charlie before she got any further.

“Where are you going?”

He could hear the nasally voice yelling out, but he didn’t stop, taking long strides until he was outside. The cold air hit him with an immense force as the rain pelted his exposed chest. He silently cursed himself for not thinking of a shirt.

She had only gotten to her car, tossing a bag into the back seat before he grabbed her elbow roughly and spun her around to face him.

“What the fuck Charlie, come back inside, it’s too damn cold and rainy to be out in this mess.”

She pulled her arm back up he didn’t let go or loosen his grip, “I’ve drove in a blizzard, I’m more than capable. Go back inside to your guest, and let go of my fucking arm.”

He sighed, flexing his fingers around her elbow, “don’t be such a child Charlotte, get in the house.”

“I wouldn’t act like a child if you didn’t treat me like one. You made it clear this was your house, and I get it, but if you think I’m going to stay and be treated like shit you have another thing coming. I made that mistake once,” his face faltered at her confession, “I won’t do it again.”

He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Miles didn’t tell him anything about Charlie’s situation. Only that her boyfriend kicked her out and she needed a place. He had no idea he treated her like shit, maybe even the same way Bass was yelling at her before, no wonder she flinched. Now he felt like shit, worse than shit because no one deserved to be treated like that, but especially not his Charlie.

Fuck, he had no idea where that even came from.

Seeing the sympathetic look growing in his eyes, she used all her force to tear her arm away from his slack grip, “don’t.”

Shocked, his eyes snapped down to meet hers, “don’t fucking pity me, I can’t stand that look in people’s eyes. I don’t need your sympathy. I took care of it. And for the record, he didn’t kick me out, I left because he was a narcissist, self-centered asshole who got pissed every time I wouldn’t put out.”

Bass couldn’t say anything, he felt as though his mouth was sewn together, which was more than okay. Charlie didn’t need anyone to coddle or comfort her.

“And when I did finally have sex with him, he told me I’m an awful fucking lay,” she bitterly laughed, the rain hiding the few tears that escaped from her eyes during her personal declaration.

She had no idea why she was even saying this, to Bass of all people. She didn’t want to make him feel bad for snapping at her, she just wanted to tell someone, and it just so happened she felt comfortable telling him.

That comfort flew out the window when he reached out for her and she backed away swiftly, “no listen, just…don’t tell Miles about this okay. I didn’t even mean to tell you. Go back inside to your house. We’re done here.”

He only shook himself out of shock enough to reach an arm out, he still couldn’t get his lips to move, but upon seeing her hand on the car door, his arm shot out and firmly closed the door shut again.

“We’re not done here. You were right to call me out on being an asshole that was a douchebag thing to do and say. It doesn’t matter that this is my house, you’re my guest,” his voice dropped on the last part, sending a flutter to Charlie’s thumping heart.

She inhaled slowly, taking deep, long breaths in order to calm herself down, but her heart was still thumping like a jackrabbit.

“Please,” she heard his low, pleading voice infiltrating her left ear as his face hovered inches away from hers.

“Please just, come back inside.”

He didn’t think she was being dramatic, if anything she was being rather calm and professional about the whole situation. She didn’t yell, stomp her feet, slam her door. She just gathered her stuff and was going to hit the road. She was a headstrong, stubborn girl who wasn’t going to take anyone’s shit. Bass liked that about her, but he wasn’t opposed to begging if she didn’t concede.

Mutely nodding, she maneuvered around him, collecting her bag from the backseat as she shut the car door. She made it halfway up the stairs before his hand grabbed her elbow, this time more gently.

Turning her around once they were sheltered from the rain, he bent down at her level to get a better look at her. Her eyes didn’t move from their fixed position on the cement stairs. Bass had to physically tilt her chin up with his fingers, “look if you don’t want me to tell Miles then I won’t. You just have to promise me, if we ever see this dick out in public you let me beat the shit out of him.”

She started to interrupt, but he held up a hand, “not because you need it, but because he deserves it. It’s this deal or nothing.”

Sighing, she playfully rolled her eyes, “fine, whatever, though I highly doubt I’m ever going to see him again.”

Bass looked like a kid at Christmas, at that, Charlie muttered “boys,” as she went back inside. Bass however remained outside, rubbing at the back of his neck, still looking at the spot where Charlie was just standing. She was one amazing woman, and he was so fucking screwed.

Shit, there was still one very pissed off, needy woman in his bed. Bass groaned, he was wet, cold, and not in the mood. Hell, he didn’t even like the girl. Her voice was annoying and she talked too much. She was too…not Charlie.


	3. Three

“Don’t mind me,” she mumbled underneath her breath, dropping her coat and shoes at the door before strolling into the kitchen.

Keeping her eyes cast downwards she went about her business, not paying any attention to the two people lounging on the couch. Things had improved since the last time he brought a woman over and she didn’t want to stir up trouble again. They both came to an understanding and he agreed to keep things as quiet as possible so it was less awkward for all parties, even though squeaky girl didn’t seem too embarrassed…until he kicked her out.

The woman turned to Bass and grinned widely, “Awe Sebastian, you didn’t tell me you were babysitting.”

Charlie could only hear bits and pieces of what was being said, but she heard enough to be offended. Should she have kept her mouth shut yes, but was she going to? Hell no.

Spinning on her heels in the kitchen, she sweetly called out, “you know, green is not a good color on you sweetheart. It doesn’t go well with your fair complexion.”

Taking the line Bass used on her before, she carefully wove it to her advantage. Her voice was laced with a sugary sweetness, as she dished out the backhanded compliment. 

Duncan didn’t care one bit, in fact, it only made her laugh louder, “you’re a regular spitfire aren’t you?”

When she didn’t answer, Duncan looked over to Bass, “I bet she’s a fun little thing.”

It wasn’t a question, but Bass already started shaking his head, “No. It’s not what you think Duncan.”

Her smirk got wider, almost splitting her face in half, “uh huh, sure. Whatever you say Sebastian.”

Grabbing an apple, Charlie rolled her eyes at Bass’ dismissive tone, as if he was offended Duncan was suggesting they slept together. Letting it roll off her back, she picked up her discarded bookbag, slinging it over her shoulder as she advanced to her room.

Before she shut the door she heard Duncan call out to her, “let me know if you ever want to have some real fun. A pretty young thing like you could be just enough to spice things up.”

As Duncan winked at her Charlie couldn’t help the laughter crawling its way up her throat, “if I swung that way, you’d be the first I’d call.”

Duncan just smiled, “you don’t have to swing that way honey. I’m not opposed to sharing,” her eyes subtly twitched towards Bass’ rigid form on the couch.

He squirmed in his seat, picturing Charlie and Duncan together. No, fuck, that was not an image he wanted to be thinking about right now. This was his best friend’s niece. His goddamn best friend’s niece.

Never more thankful when she closed the door, Bass flipped on Duncan, “you do know that’s Miles’ niece right, ever heard him talking about Charlie? Yeah, well, that’s her.”

He hoped it would put an end to Duncan’s relentless teasing nature, but if anything it probably egged her on.

“Hmm,” her eyes drifted to the closed door in a dream like trance before turning back, “well the offer still stands, Miles’ niece or not, she’s quite the looker. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Jesus Duncan,” preoccupying himself with his beer in hand. Bass said nothing, but to Duncan it spoke volumes, ringing loudly in her ears.

“Ah. That’s the problem isn’t it?” Bass’ continual silence made her break out into a Cheshire grin, “you have the hots for her, you like her.”

He snorted, rolling his eyes, “what the fuck is this third grade?”

“Don’t be dismissive and dodge the topic. This is why you’ve been wound up tighter than a two-dollar watch. You mean to tell me you two seriously haven’t fucked yet?”

“Duncan what part of ‘that’s Miles’ niece,’ did you not understand. I am speaking English right?”

He finally snapped at her while Duncan cracked a wide grin and chuckled, “damn you’ve got it really bad.”

Wincing, he sarcastically retorted, “thank you Duncan for pointing the obvious out—“

“Well it’s not obvious to her because the kid doesn’t even see it.”

“Can we talk about something else,” he barked, leaning back further into the couch hoping it would swallow him whole.

The last thing he wanted to do was talk more about the one girl he was trying to keep his mind off of. It had been going really well until Duncan stuck her teeth in it and held on for dear life. Weirdly though, she only lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, going back to their earlier topic of conversation.

He was always grateful for Duncan’s company. She had grown to be a good friend despite the few snags they hit along with way, and their brief coupling stint. She was funny, always had good stories, and most of all, she was one helluva distraction. Bass didn’t even notice Charlie slinking out of her dungeon hours later.

"You look like hell kid," Duncan commented, causing Bass to glance over at her.

If anything, she looked comfortable, casual, but still drop dead sexy with her hair loosely tied to the top of her head in a bun, tendrils falling down. Her jean-clad thighs earlier were now covered with baggy shorts, longer than her typical ones. Bass’ heart stopped when he saw she was wearing a USMC shirt, obviously one Miles had given her. She was his own personal hell. 

She let out a long, exasperated sigh, "yeah well that's about how I feel."

Not expanding anymore, she briskly walked by the seated couple into the kitchen when she heard a startling voice. 

"What's going on?"

In midst chewing, she swallowed quickly and looked over to him. It wasn't the question that was weird, it was Bass asking. Usually they kept to themselves, only making casual small talk because Bass couldn't control his damn hormones. He got laid twice but each time his mind drifted back to Charlie. Picturing her naked body, withering and whimpering in pleasure while he worshipped every inch of her glorious body. 

"Bass is good with history."

His head snapped up realizing he hadn't been listening this whole time, but apparently Duncan had. It was weird, she was taking such a liking to Charlie, and that wasn't typical of Duncan. She usually hated most other women Bass chose to spend his time with. Charlie was different, although who wouldn't like her. 

Again he was in his own mind when he found both sets of amused eyes gazing in his direction. 

"Guess it depends on the history and the topic. Not too good with politics and shit," he attempted to bullshit an answer instead of admitting he wasn't listening. Bullshitting always got him through school and apparently it satisfied Charlie because she nodded. Duncan on the other hand knew where his mind went, it wasn't hard to tell and she couldn't blame him.

"Charlie was saying she got comments about the direction of her paper for history class and the professor wants it to go in a different direction so she's pissed. Did a lot of research for him to say talking about that battle was useless," Duncan commented offhandedly. 

Bass' eyes twinkled at the mention of battles, "which one?”

He was now addressing Charlie who leaned against the kitchen counter, "battle of Fort Davidson. I wanted to pick one that wasn't well known because those have been kinda exhausted and it's like beating a dead horse."

He snorted at the use of her idiom reminding him of the only other person who said shit like that, Miles. 

"That's a fucking idiot professor, that's a key battle even if it is a smaller one. Besides, hasn't he ever heard the expression win the battle but lost the war? Meaning all little battles are important.”

Charlie smiled at Bass' empathetic and bitter tone, " I actually said the same thing in a less than polite way. He said I could choose to still write on the topic but it had better be a damn good paper. The risk has to pay off basically."

At that Duncan could see a challenge rising behind Bass' eyes, he was never one to back down, and something told her Charlie wasn't either. 

"When's this paper due?"

"In two days. I tried working on it the other day but..."

She trailed off in hopes he would make the connection. She was alluding to the other day and by the look in his eyes, he understood. 

He nodded his head, "ok well let's get to work."

Moving down the couch to make some more room, he shoved his beer out of the way, sweeping his hand across the coffee table while Charlie stood curiously in the kitchen. 

She had no idea what he meant by that vague command, but somehow her feet started moving without her consent towards her room. Collecting her laptop, papers, and pen in her arms, she brought it all out and displayed it on the less scattered table. 

Duncan said nothing as she watched with an amused expression. She felt accomplished shoving them together, playing matchmaker although Miles would kick her ass if he knew. 

Bass was so into the storytelling, sometimes Charlie forgot to write things down, opting to look at his wild hand gestures and facial features instead. It was apparent how deep his love for history ran, and it warmed Charlie’s heart to see him loose himself in it. 

He told her about the battle, who fought, where they were fighting, what part of the war this was situated in, and even knew a rough estimation about the lives lost. She basically only had to sit and listen to him talk, this would’ve been much more enjoyable than the research she slaved over the other night.

They both got so caught up in his dramatic storytelling skills, they didn’t notice Duncan was actively seeking their attention so she could leave. It was fun for awhile, but then it started to feel as though she was intruding on their bonding.

“Are you leaving?”

Duncan nodded to Bass, “yeah I got an early day tomorrow, but thanks for the beers and the chat.”

Halfway out the door, she stuck her head back in, “Charlie, it was nice meeting you kid. Don’t forget my offer,” she saucily threw in a wink as Charlie laughed.

Faltering for a moment, Bass wasn’t sure what to say now. Before he had Duncan as a buffer so he couldn’t pounce on Charlie right then and there, but now she was gone. 

This was ridiculous. He was a grown ass adult, if he couldn’t get his fucking hormones in check it was his fault. He couldn’t take it out on Charlie.

She noticed his subtle change in attitude for a fraction of a second, but he quickly veered back on the subject. 

She had such a good time listening to him ramble on about different battles and war, she stopped taking notes ages ago when she had enough to write at least 10 pages. Closing her laptop, she put it beside her on the couch, leaving her notebook and papers on the coffee table.

Absentmindedly, she picked up his bottle of beer, resting the bottle on her lower lip. Taking a generous swig she almost couldn't resist the urge to smile when he looked over and glared. 

"That's mine, get your own moocher."

She could tell he was half joking, half serious, so she brought the bottle back to her mouth, her eyes never leaving his. It wasn’t her intention to be seductive, but a haze coated his eyes, body going stiff.

Laughing it off, she reached the beer out to him in a peace offering. She for one didn't recognize his longing looks as lustful because she assumed he wasn't interested. He kinda made that clear when she first got there. At least that's how she took it. 

"Keep it," realizing how terse that sounded he added more softly, "I'll go get another one."

Shrugging, she relaxed into the back of the couch as he stepped over her in search of more booze in the kitchen.

“Okay so back to the story,” he threw himself into it, distracting himself from her close proximity when he got back from the kitchen with more beer.

He attempted to explain to her the whole damn civil war, and it would’ve been boring had it been anyone else, but Bass made it exciting. Charlie enjoyed watching his face light up, even laughing aloud when he plucked the pencil from her limp hand and began drawing diagrams on her papers.

“I’ve always thought it would be cool to use a sword,” musing, she casually tossed the idea out. She knew how to fight, well enough to not get her ass kicked, but it would be fun to learn how to do some other types of fighting. Like with swords.

Bass seemed to like the idea too because his grip on the pencil tightened. Peeking at her from the side of his eye, he mumbled lowly, “I can teach you sometime if you want?”

She wasn’t looking at him as she mulled the idea over, but after a few minutes she nodded her head, smiling down at him warmly.

“That would be fun.”

She sent another reassuring smile in his direction when he just stared at her. He could feel the beer slowly seeping into the cracks and nooks of his mind, clouding all his judgement.

Tossing the pencil on the ground, his other hand shot out, gripping the back of Charlie’s neck tightly as he crushed their lips together in a scorching kiss. Sinking into his embrace, Charlie immediately granted his access, tongue sweeping across her lower lip. 

Bass closed the remaining space between them when he drug her body effortlessly across the couch to rest on his lap. Her still, unresponsive hands sprung to life, delving into his soft curls as she twisted her body to press more firmly up against his. She could feel how hard she was making him every time her body rubbed up against his. Bass broke the kiss long enough to trail hot, open mouth kisses down the side of her neck, stopping just above the dip of her breasts. Encouraging him, Charlie arched into his touch, relishing in the feel of his scruff etching away at her tender skin.

Latching his mouth onto the soft, supple mound, he instantly pulled back when Charlie moaned loudly and tugged harder on his hair.

Not immediately pushing he off, he let go of her hips, running a hand through his hair, “fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it this far.”

“So you meant to take it somewhere?”

He didn’t realize that’s what he said, but naturally Charlie picked up on it.

“Yes. No. Fuck Charlie, I don’t know. I just…I don’t want to say anything stupid right now, I can’t think with you sitting on me,” he weakly confessed.

Charlie chuckled, scooting off his lap, “don’t have an aneurism about it Bass, we kissed, it’s cool. It’s not like we fucked on the table okay?”

Brows furrowing, he turned his head to see she was biting her cheek in order not to laugh at his flustered speech. He had no idea why she was being so cool about this, but he didn’t question it.

Picking her laptop up, she shook her head, still clearly amused by him as she stacked her papers on top.

Turning back around, she reached one hand out to sympathetically clap his shoulder, “don’t worry, your balls are safe from Miles, it was just the heat of the moment. Thanks for all the information, I’m going to work on this paper now.”

Mutely nodding, Bass could find any words because he was confused as hell. Charlie on the other hand wasn’t. She was okay with leaving things as they were because she had the upper hand. She now knew for certain he was definitely lying his ass off before, he would fuck her in a heartbeat if she could make him lose all sense of control.

And if anything, Charlie loved a challenge.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little chapter, I'm working on another update soon which will be heavy Charloe ;) I was going to have it done by today in time for Valentine's Day (since I'm not writing anything to do with the holiday lol), but it just depends on my motivation!

Boom.

Bang.

Crash. 

Simultaneously, one after the other, a loud sound pulsated throughout the house as Bass carelessly threw the pan down on the stove. He didn’t even bother to react when it whacked on top of the burner and food did summersaults in the air.

“Fuck, Charlie?”

He waited two Mississippi’s before calling out again, “Charlie?”

She wasn’t answering and after that loud noise, he was getting worried. A sharp, stabbing pain struck his heart when he heard a low groan coming from behind the bathroom door.

“Is everything okay?”

All she did was groan again, this time weaker, softer. Rushing over to the door, he jiggled the handle a few times, cursing under his breath upon finding it locked.

“Fuck Charlie, can you open the door?”

“Bass,” her hushed voice plucked at his heartstrings, “I think I broke something.”

Shit, his mind kicked into warp speed at her confession, “Charlie can you open the door? I’ll take you to the hospital I just need you to get the door open.”

A garbled response her left lips but to Bass it sounded no different than the groans she kept uttering.

“Fuck,” scrubbing his hand through his hair, he pulled at the strands in frustration.

“Are you anywhere near the door?”

When she shook her head she remembered he wasn’t in there, so he couldn’t actually see her. 

“No,” she weakly called out, waiting for him to respond.

She never got a vocal response because the next thing she hears is the door flying off the hinges, ricocheting backwards against the wall. Bass had a spare key for all the doors in the house located in a drawer, but as soon as those words left Charlie’s mouth, all rational thoughts went out the window.

Clearly, in his mind, the only logical solution was to kick down the door, and that’s exactly what he did.

He didn’t even bother covering his eyes, at the moment all he could think about was getting her to a hospital. Sex was the last thing on his brain.

Walking over to where she was lying, head resting against the side of the bathtub, he knelt down, “where does it hurt?”

“My arm,” she muttered.

Bass’ eyes already started drifting down to the bruise forming on her left calf already swelling. Directing his gaze to her arm, he could see where she had it cradled in towards her body, not moving it. 

This would be one helluva story to tell, and he would make her as soon as they were done at the hospital.

Fumbling for the towel hanging on the rack beside the bathtub, he gathered the cotton material in his hands. Pulling Charlie’s limp, wet body, he wrapped the towel around her, muttering comforting words into her ear as he picked her up.

Visibly concerned about her leg, he wanted to see if she could put any kind of pressure on it before more worrying set in. Standing her upright, she took the hint, planting her right foot firmly on the floor before attempting to do the same with the other.

Sucking in a deep breath, she clamped down hard, teeth gnawing together as she retracted her leg when it only grazed the surface.

“Shit, alright, it’s probably just sore from the fall” without another thought he lifted her bridal style into his arms.

“I can’t go to the hospital naked Bass,” Charlie’s muffled voice floated to his ears as he looked down at her.

He rolled his eyes, “I’m pretty sure they’ve seen gross ass things Charlie, a naked body isn’t going to faze them.”

“I realize,” she dryly commented, “but I still don’t want to show up naked as a jaybird.”

Letting out a low sigh, he conceded, changing course in route to her bedroom.

Nudging her door open, he carefully sat her down on the bed, going back into the bathroom. He gathered up the clothes she left lying on the floor, averting his eyes from all her personal items. Tossing them to her when he entered her bedroom again, he angled his body to give her some privacy if she desired.

Struggling, she was able to shimmy into her underwear pretty well, moving on to the shorts until she huffed in annoyance. It was hard to do this with only one good arm.

“Fuck,” she exclaimed, drawing her leg back up as Bass turned around, panic written across his face.

Even hurt, she couldn’t help but feel the flutter in her heart as he tenderly gazed down at her, checking every inch of her body.

This shit hurt like a bitch, but it didn’t mean Charlie couldn’t work a little bit of it to her advantage. Arm extending, she reached out her shorts in his direction and shyly looked at him from underneath her lashes, “can you help me?”

Hesitantly, Bass grasped the fabric in between his fingertips, tersely nodding.

Holding up the one good leg, Bass bunched the material up so it would smoothly slide up her leg. When he was standing next to her, she hopped up on the right leg, placing her good arm on top of his shoulders as he bent down to slide it up her other leg. 

Paying close attention to the purple, harsh colored bruising on her leg, he quickly pulled her shorts all the way up, letting his fingertips linger on her backside for a moment.

Charlie smiled to herself as she felt some of his resolve breaking. Turning her attention back to her clothing, she fumbled with her bra, trying not to strain her arm.

Bass watched her for a few minutes until he swatted her hand away and took over. He already saw her naked, might as well help her get dressed. Very slowly and delicately, he maneuvered the bra around her bad arm while it hung loosely on the other side. His cold hands slid across her back and, upon instinct, she flinched a bit.

“Sorry,” he murmured, voice carrying softly to her ear as he scrabbled to hook the bra behind her back. It was not as easy putting one on as it was taking it off. This job felt more stressful than being a bomb squad technician.

Finally after successfully hooking it, he quickly bundled up the shirt and brought it over her head, through one arm, and then gradually through the other. When she was dressed enough, Charlie went put her arm around his shoulder, placing most of her weight onto him. 

They went a few steps like this before Bass said fuck it and picked her back up, “it’s gonna take us years to get there like this. Plus you aren’t that heavy.”

Charlie laughed, holding her breath as he placed her in the car and all but sped off towards the hospital. She hated that place and wanted to say no, but something told her Bass would’ve made her. Either physically or he would’ve called Miles and she wasn’t sure how Miles would take it.

Of course he would be worried about her at first, but Miles tended to panic differently. Charlie could hear him now, talking in a loud, firm voice, asking her why she didn’t keep her stupid to a minimum. And this was the mother of all stupid things she could’ve done. If she weren’t in so much pain, she would’ve been slightly embarrassed. 

As soon as they got to the hospital, Bass was at her side, helping her out of the car and leading them into the main entrance. He tried to help her fill out forms, but after a few minutes, Charlie mimicked his earlier motion and knocked his hands out of the way. 

Her leg was starting to feel a little better, so she stood to take the information back to the lady at the front desk by herself. Bass wasn’t having any of that. He was right by her side the whole time, laying a tender hand on her lower back as she crept towards the window.

Fidgeting nervously in his chair, he tapped his foot against the ugly, outdated tile floor of the waiting room until Charlie gripped his knee.

“Stop doing that, you’re starting to make me nervous,” she laughed.

Looking over at her, he kinked one eyebrow, “you aren’t nervous? I hate hospitals.”

She shook her head, “nah I’ve broken a bone before.”

When she didn’t elaborate he motioned with his hand for her to go on as she just sighed, “I hit this kid in eight grade because he was picking on Danny.”

Bass couldn’t help the laughter escaping from his mouth. Tilting his head back, he clutched at his side, imagining a young Charlie going around and beating people up.

“It wasn’t funny at the time,” she playfully scolded.

“I broke two fingers on his hard ass head, and my parents flipped out,” she shuddered, recalling the punishment she received for her crime, but then she smiled. It was definitely worth it.

“Charlotte Matheson,” his rumbling laughter was cut short when a lady appeared, holding a clipboard and barking out Charlie’s name.

He went to stand as soon as her feet touched the ground, but she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, “it’s okay you don’t have to come with me, I’m fine. Just let Miles know because I kind of half told him in a text a few seconds ago.”

Bass groaned, sinking in the chair, “ah hell, you’re leaving me to deal with him. You know he doesn’t do well with bad news or stressful situations. Great, now I have to deal with the freak out.”

She smiled, looking at him over her shoulder, “yep, that’s why I’m giving you the task. You’re pretty good in a stressful situation.”

He watched as she followed the nurse down the hallway, disappearing. Good in a stressful situation, I’m pretty sure his broken bathroom door would have to differ.

Sighing, Bass drug his phone out of his pocket, checking for voicemails, texts or any other form of frantic message from Miles. Obviously Charlie hadn’t mention he was with her, which he was grateful for until she left him with the job of telling Miles.

He tried to just text Miles, but his phone started violently vibrating holes through his pant pocket. Picking it up, he pressed the button quickly to shut it up, “what?”

“Don’t you what me,” Miles snapped, “you just texted me and said ‘hey I’m at the hospital with Charlie’ with no explanation or anything. What the hell Bass?”

“Look I don’t know all the details yet, she fell in the shower and hurt her arm—“

“She fell in the damn shower, how did she get out? Is it okay? Did she break anything?”

Bass cut him off mid ramble in order to save them all some time, “I got her out, I’m not sure if she broke anything. Said her arm hurt like a son of a bitch and her leg had a huge ass bruise on it—“

He interrupted at just the precise moment Bass knew he would, “you got her out? Bass what the fuck, I specifically said she was off limits.”

“Don’t worry I controlled myself long enough to stand her upright before we had mind blowing shower sex with her fucking broken arm and hurt leg,” he sarcastically retorted. 

Miles didn’t say anything for a few moments. He finally sighed, his angry tone dissipating, “Shit, I’m sorry Bass that was stupid. I’m just worried.”

He nodded, “I understand man, she wasn’t in that much pain though. She felt well enough to boss me around.”

He laughed when Miles’ voice beamed through the phone, “That’s my girl.”

“I took her to the hospital and she’s back in the room now getting things checked out. I’ll call you as soon as you she’s out, or she’ll text you.”

“Alright well, just call me the minute she’s out—“

“Yes dear,” Bass rolled his eyes, ending the conversation and shoving the phone back in his pocket when Charlie came strolling out.

He turned his head, stretching his legs out as he looked down at her freshly wrapped arm, “what’s the verdict?”

“It’s fractured, they gave me a prescription for the pain and inflammation, and I made an follow up appointment.”

She held out a black brace, “they also gave me this, I have to wear it for at least a week, if not longer,” groaning her arm flopped back down by her side.

“Well put it on and let’s get you home, you handicap schmuck,” he bit the inside of his cheek in order to contain the smile threatening to spill out onto his face.

She sent an icy cold stare in his direction as they walked out of the hospital in silence. 

Finally Bass turned to her when they were by the car, “oh by the way I called your uncle and he only mildly yelled, but you’re going to have to call him and give him a full report on what happened. I imagine he’ll save the yelling for you,” he teased.

Charlie groaned once she was in the car, causing Bass’ head to whip towards her in alarm. She just laughed at his worried expression, “I’m okay Bass, chill. Although if you wanna take a bullet for me you’ll call Miles and tell him my hair fell in front of my face, and for some reason, it looked like someone else was in the bathroom so I panicked for a second. Once I realized it was just my hair, I went to move it out of the way and managed to get soap in my eye—“

She pointed a stern finger in his direction when she saw a grin breaking out on his face, “don’t you dare laugh, it stung so fucking bad. From there everything went downhill, including your shower curtain…so I’ll buy you a new one.”

Bass looked over at her, trying to figure out if she was serous or not. This was seriously what happened. She almost broke her arm because her hair scared her and caused her to get soap in her eye. 

Now he was picturing Charlie, flailing around the bathroom, eyes clamped shut, and ripping the shower curtain off the hooks. After a second passed, Bass burst into laughter, watching as Charlie’s face grew angrier by the minute. He was never going to let her live this down.

“You won’t be laughing when I tell Miles you were checking me out while I was naked,” she said in a singsong voice, grinning in triumph when his smile fell.

“I was assessing the damage Charlotte,” he pathetically threw out the excuse, but Charlie was already grinning.

“I’m pretty sure my ass didn’t need to be felt up in order to ‘assess’ and there sure as hell wasn’t any ‘damage’ done to my boobs,” she smirked cheekily at him while he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! Because I didn't write any fics for the holiday, I updated this story twice and included more Charloe and smut in the last chapter :)

“I’m finally free,” Charlie dramatically threw the brace into the air as soon as she entered the house. It was a bitch trying to write or type while wearing it, but it was helpful. Her wrist healed nicely for the most part, she went to the doctor the other day and he gave her the okay to stop wearing the brace as soon as she felt comfortable.

To her it would’ve meant that day, but Bass convinced her to wear a little while longer, just in case. He was paranoid, opting to wean her off it instead, and she humored him with little argument. Mostly because he and Miles ganged up on her.

“Don’t throw that thing away, you might need it again one day,” he chuckled when she glared at him, flipping him off.

“Embarrassing things only happen to me once every few years or so,” she put her hands on her hip in a matter of fact way.

Bass snorted, jokingly rolling his eyes.

“Whatever, like you’re one to talk. Duncan’s told me many embarrassing stories about you, and even a few about Miles.”

“You’ve been talking to Duncan?”

Bass couldn’t hide the surprise leaking out of his voice. Never in a million years did he think Charlie would ever voluntarily seek Duncan out.

She howled with laughter after seeing his face, “I didn’t talk to her about what you think I did, jeez. I mean, I’m not saying I don’t find her mildly attractive, or that I would turn down her offer again,” she trailed off as Bass nervously fidgeted from the couch as she dropped down.

He didn’t want to talk about having threesomes with Charlie. Fuck, he didn’t want to talk about sex at all with Charlie. He felt less mature than her in that moment because apparently, she had no problem throwing around the subject.

“I mean Duncan’s hot and seems like she can handle herself well enough,” she looked over at him to get a feel for his reaction, but his face remained blank as he occupied himself with beer.

“She seems like she’d be well experienced.”

Bass hummed in agreement. He knew the answer to all of the silent questions Charlie was hinting at, but he did not want to talk about his and Duncan’s past romps. 

Smirking, she decided to just go all out, “you would know a thing or two about that…wouldn’t you?”

Throwing all the cards on the table, she waited for him to say something, but he just timidly chuckled.

“You really wanna talk about mine and Duncan’s sex lives?”

Still smirking, she placed a delicate hand on his chest, trailing it down the contours of his abdomen, “well, I don’t really want to talk in general. But that seems the only thing you’re willingly to do with me.”

“I wonder why that is, I mean, your friend Duncan has no problem staking a claim and she’s doesn’t even know me. Hell, I even told her I was straight,” her nails lightly raked against the softness of his t-shirt.

Bass gulped, trying to shove his nerves down and not react to how close Charlie’s hand was drifting, “yeah well Duncan’s not one to be shy about something she wants.”

Charlie’s laughed sounded like music to his ears, “you don’t strike me as the shy type either.”

“Maybe I just don’t want you,” he pathetically mumbled the words, barely able to push them off his tongue.

Charlie knew it was bullshit, she could not only hear it in his voice, but she could physically feel his body vibrating underneath her fingertips. Plus that kiss the other night proved, if anything, he physically wanted her. Whether or not he was romantically interested in her, she had no fucking clue, and it didn’t matter at this moment.

She just knew she wanted him, in any way he would permit.

“I’m going to have to call bullshit,” she placed a kiss on the side of his neck, biting down lightly. Bass had to do everything in his power to not moan when her soft lips made contact with the tender skin of his neck. And Charlie didn’t stop her assault there, she continued to lay hot kisses down his neck, and back up again.

Letting her lips linger near his ear, she breathily replied, “I think you do want me, and you’re scared to lose the last bit of control you have.”

Damn, she was spot on. She knew he was at his wits end. Mustering up every bit of control he had left in his body, he quickly stood up from his spot on the couch, not looking at Charlie as he passed by her into the kitchen.

She wasn’t mad, instead she just shrugged her shoulders, appearing indifferent.

“Suit yourself, just going to give you one last chance before I took Duncan up on her offer.”

Bass’ grip on the beer he was holding slipped. Luckily the countertop caught it, only spilling some of its contents.

“Shit,” he went to clean it up, glancing over at Charlie, “what?”

That’s all he could get out. That’s the only coherent thought running rampage in his mind.

“I understand you’re not interested,” she stood up from the couch, turning to face him, “but that doesn’t mean someone else isn’t.”

He stared at her, forgetting about the beer altogether, “so…you’re going to have sex…with Duncan?”

That sounded even weirder when it came out of his own mouth instead of being just a thought. Before when he pictured it erotically, it sounded nice, but with himself out of the equation, he felt a pang of jealousy. 

She shook her head, “no I told her the other night I didn’t swing that way, but I’m quite confident she knows other available, experienced people. She looks like a person with good taste, and obviously I can agree, seeing as how you two were a thing. But I’m not totally opposed to her participating,” she casually threw that out there.

“You’re gonna have sex with some random fucking person?”

Throwing her head back in laughter, she nodded, “yeah Bass, that’s kind of what people do. I’m sure you know how it works.”

Stalking slowly with long strides, she never took her eyes off Bass’ as she crept closer to the kitchen, until she was standing at the entrance.

“You made it clear you weren’t interested in fucking me, so no sweat, but I’m getting laid one way or the other, although I would rather it be you,” she smirked.

Bass was still dumbfounded by her blatant flirting. He was used to people coming on to him, but Charlie was the only woman who was relentless in her pursuit. Ordinarily, a woman would’ve just moved on as soon as he said he wasn’t interested. Charlie took it as a challenge. She wanted Bass. Plus she could tell he was full of shit and only spewing those words robotically because he was supposed to.

“Charlie,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting a long sigh out, “this is not a good idea.”

“Stupid ideas are my specialty,” her body gravitated towards his on instinct. 

He didn’t realize she was standing so close until he opened his eyes and saw her body hovering near his, off to the side.

“Yes but stupid ideas aren’t mine,” he retracted his statement when she gave him an incredulous look, “ok fine, maybe they are. But not when they involve you. This is the mother of all stupid ideas.”

She laughed thinking back to those exact words coming from her own lips, “look we don’t have to tell anyone, especially not Miles, I understand. This can be, whatever we want it to be. It doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s sex—“

“No,” he vehemently shook his head, “that’s bullshit, sex always means something and if you think we can do this without any attachments, you’re kidding yourself. I haven’t been turning you down all this time just because of Miles, although he’s kinda intimidating when it comes to you,” he shuddered.

“Then why did you say no?”

It was fragile, vulnerable, and almost heartbreaking for Bass to hear. She assumed Miles was the reason, but if it wasn’t him, then it must’ve been because of her. Maybe Bass really wasn’t interested.

“Because I was giving you a chance to back out,” his voice interrupted her monologue going on. “Because as soon as we do this, it’s not going to be some one time, blame it on the alcohol shit. It’s because somehow, you’ve managed to work yourself under my skin.”

All worries fell to the side as she sultrily grinned up at him, “too bad it’s my body I’ve been trying to work under your skin.”

“Last chance,” he grinned, running his fingertips down her arm, ignoring her flirting.

Closing the distance between them, Charlie stood on her toes, pressing her body and her mouth against his, answering his question.

That was all it took for Bass’ control to snap, shattering into a million pieces as he gripped her hips, spinning them so she was pressed against the kitchen counter.

He shoved his tongue into the confines of her mouth, aggressively battling her tongue for dominance, which Charlie granted as she moaned into his mouth. His hands were everywhere, all at one, and Charlie felt as though she was going to cum from his touches alone. 

Stroking the underside of her breasts, he pushed her shirt higher until it was over her head, always careful of her arm, even though she wasn’t. 

Her eyelids fluttered closed when he dropped to his knees, planting his mouth against her smooth stomach, hands actively working to rid her of those damn jeans that did things to him.

She was so distracted by his hands, she didn’t notice when he, not only freed her legs from her jeans, but drug her panties down with them. She only noticed when he placed a tender kiss on top of her pussy. Delving in with one finger, he stroked her, muttering underneath his breath, “mmm so wet.”

Complying with her unspoken command, he added another finger into her slick folds, slowly pumping in and out of her at a tantalizingly slow pace. Heavy, her head dropped back, hair spilling onto the counter top, probably in some left over beer, but she didn’t care at the moment. And she sure as hell didn’t care when Bass’ tongue jutted out to swipe a long path up the length of her pussy.

She could feel her knees buckling as soon as his wet tongue pierced her vagina, in addition to his fingers working her over. With the other hand, Bass grabbed her leg, pulling it over his shoulder in case she completely collapsed, and so he could access her beautiful, soaking wet pussy even more. 

With the new angle Charlie was seeing stars, it would only be moments before she exploded and Bass could feel her walls starting to clamp. Nibbling on her clit, he sucked it into his mouth, crooking his fingers seconds before Charlie let go, her hands shooting out to grab the counter.

Patiently, Bass let her ride out the last wave of her orgasm before removing his fingers from her heat and standing back up.

He had no time to regain his balance, Charlie roughly shoved at him, pushing his against the fridge as her hands blindly started to rip at his clothing. She wanted it off now. She couldn’t wait another goddamn second. She needed him inside her now.

Bass chuckled at her enthusiasm, but it died on his lips when Charlie rid him of his pants and boxers in one forceful shove. Groaning as soon as her hand gripped him lightly, teasingly stroking him up and down, Bass crushed his lips to hers.

He allowed Charlie to feel him, touch him, and even taste him, mouth opening in shock when she copied his actions and dropped to her knees.

She looked up at him with a devilish chagrin before swirling her tongue around his tip. Bass wanted to keep his eyes open to watch this magnificent creature and her heavenly lips, but as soon as she took all of him into her mouth, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

“Fuck, Charlie,” his hands clutched her hair, keeping her mouth in place as he tried not to rock his hips up into her mouth.

When he couldn’t take it along longer, he pulled her up and twisted them so she was against the refrigerator this time. 

Not stopping, he swiftly entered her. Fully sheathed inside her drenched, hot pussy, they both moaned out loud, not moving for a few seconds. Bass was giving her time to adjust, and he also needed time to recover from his almost orgasm. If she had kept sucking, he knew he wouldn’t have lasted much longer, and he wanted to be inside of her.

Charlie was the one to thrust her hips into his, drawing his attention back to the present. He fulfilled her every desire, shoving into her hard and fast, and with every thrust Charlie met him with the same intensity.

Feeling her weak legs shaking, still recovering from the first orgasm, Bass picked her up, interlocking their hands above on the refrigerator. Neither of them cared about the squeals and protests coming from the equipment made as they fucked roughly against it. Bass could only hear Charlie’s heaving panting, and Charlie could only hear Bass’ husky moans.

“Shit,” he mumbled, picking up the pace nearing his own orgasm. He could feel Charlie’s pussy throbbing around his penis before clamping down for dear life as she cried into his shoulder. Her clammy, sticky skin, mixed with her warm breath coming out in puffs against his shoulder sent him over the edge as he came hard, shooting his seed in side of her.

His knees gave out, dragging Charlie with him until his ass hit the ground and she was seated on top of him, “fuck, sorry.”

Charlie giggled, “Okay Mr. I don’t have any embarrassing moments.”

“First rule about Duncan is, never believe what she tells you—“

“So you aren’t an amazing lay who taught her, practically all the adventurous and erotic shit she knows?”

Charlie kinked up one eyebrow as Bass faltered for a minute, trying to figure out how Charlie knew all of this. Of course if he knew Duncan, and he did, she also didn’t mind sharing things. For Duncan, there was no such thing as too much information, or personal, private.

Finally he beamed with pride, “oh no, that’s a fact. I am fucking amazing, and I did teach her everything she knows.”

Drawing her in closer, he placed his mouth just below her ear, “and if you’re willingly to learn I can teach you a thing or two.”

Charlie shifted, feeling his growing erection still inside of her, “hmm, I am an excellent student.”

Standing suddenly, he wound his arm around Charlie’s backside, pulling her up with him, “well we have a lot of learning to do…for science.”

The first time was hurried, rough, and fast, he needed more time to worship every inch of her body, and he intended to do that. All night long.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was just reminded about this fic last night, so so sorry it has taken so long to update it, I've been switching around a lot. But I have a few more chapters planned, so I will start working on those this week, here's a cute/fluffy chapter in the meantime because I was in one of those moods!

They decided, at least for a while, to keep things cool by not telling anyone else about whatever it was they had going on. Neither of them had a problem with that; things were stressful enough in the Matheson family.

Plus they were both relatively busy, so they hadn’t had a chance to figure things out exactly. Charlie had been helping Priscilla plan the twins’ birthday party for the majority of the week, and Bass had been working a lot.

When he wasn’t working Miles occupied a good chunk of his time. Bass had planned to spend all day in front of the TV, doing absolutely nothing, but he should’ve known Miles would find something for him to do. And that something was attending the twins’ birthday party.

Miles couldn’t show up alone to Abby and Jill’s birthday party, even though they were Aaron and Priscilla’s kids and practically family. Even knowing Charlie was going to be there wasn’t enough to alleviate Miles’ worry. Naturally, his first thought was to drag Bass along, although, it didn’t take a whole lot of arm-twisting to get him there.

Bass and Aaron had a weird, nerdy friendship, both bonding over which superhero they thought was cooler. Sometimes it turned into a full on debate because Bass was dead set on Batman, while Aaron could easily find faults with him. For the most part though they got along, and everyone liked Priscilla, she was hard not to like. 

So Bass didn’t mind going, he liked kids, plus Charlie was going to be there. That was an added bonus despite the fact that they wouldn’t be able to be all over one another. That didn’t mean Bass couldn’t enjoy the view.

Good thing he liked kids because, when they arrived, the party was in full swing, kids frolicking everywhere. Aaron and Priscilla went all out for this shindig. Bass’ jaw dropped, taking in the lavish, carnival themed birthday decorations adorning the yard.

Miles groaned, “If a clown shows up I’m outta here.”

“Well it’s a carnival themed party, so the odds aren’t in your favor.” Bass snickered.

“Bet you wouldn’t be laughing if one of those snake handlers showed up.”

Bass just glared at him. Leave it to Miles to point out his kryptonite. Snakes were fucking scary as hell though, and they made weird noises. He knew Miles was only afraid of clowns because of that Stephen King movie ‘It’ they watched as children. Then Bass proceeded to dress up like a clown for weeks and hide behind doors because it was entertaining to scare the shit out of Miles.

“Bassss, come play with us.” 

He heard Abby’s soft voice float into his ears first, then he felt her warm hand envelope his as she jerked him forward. He was a sucker for Abby and Jill and their bright eyed, bushy tailed smiles. It reminded him of his sisters.

He only laughed as he allowed her to lead him further out into the huddle of children, away from the parents.

“We wanna play hide and seek,” one voice spoke up.

“Bass can count and come find us!”

“Hey! How come I have to be the one to come and find you guys?”

“Because you’re the oldest,” one kid matter of factly asserted.

He pretended to pout, “just cause I’m older doesn’t mean I’m the best counter or finder.”

Finally, after coming to a decision on who would count, everyone else scurried off to hide, including Bass. He was one of the first ones found, not even trying to disguise himself. He enjoyed seeing the look of triumph in their eyes when they thought they got one up on him.

Charlie arrived just in time to see all the children congregating together amongst a very tall figure she would recognize anywhere. Aaron mentioned inviting Miles, which should’ve been Charlie’s first clue that Bass would be there as well. Instantly, her heart sped up, warm rush of emotions surging through her bloodstream. She watched him running around in circles, picking Jill up, lightly tossing her upside down until her hair was cascading down. Spinning around in circles, they became a blur to Charlie, but one thing that shone through was their beaming smiles.

Creeping up next to Miles, he nodded his head in acknowledgement, sensing her presence. Reciprocating the motion, she sat the twins’ birthday gift down on the table before turning back to the scene in front of her. 

After a few minutes of following Bass’ fleeting form with her eyes, Charlie could feel herself getting tired just from watching. “Should someone go in and save him?”

Miles chuckled before taking a swig of his beer. “Nah Bass love kids, he’s like this anytime we’re around em. And weirdly enough they like him too.”

Charlie could definitely see that. A smile slid across her face as he played amongst them. One little girl latched onto his leg, while one of the older boys tugged at his arm. Before long Bass was covered in children, but he didn’t look like he cared. It was actually a heart-warming sight; she could feel her smile stretching wider as he laughed out loud, tilting his head backwards.

She wasn’t the only one who thought it was a beautiful view. Turning her head, she saw a flock of hungry seagulls eyeing Bass like their next victim. Her smile contorted into a frown, snarl pulling at her lip for a second before she got her emotions under control.

Priscilla was a wonderful woman, so smart and incredibly kind. Charlie really admired her and liked her; her friends however were a different story. 

Aaron and Priscilla had both decided in the beginning it would be best to put the twins in a private school, decorated with expansive academic achievements and awards. Charlie couldn’t blame them; it was one of the nicest schools in the state and deserved its high-ranking reputation. 

The only thing Charlie didn’t care for were the other parents who enrolled their children in that school. They were usually very wealthy, which wasn’t where the root of her problem lied. It was embedded in the fact that a good majority of the women were divorced, no doubt because of their personalities, and hungrily preyed on attractive men like Bass.

Not that she was saying that Bass was attractive, I mean he was, but she wasn’t necessarily saying that…per say. The point she wanted to make was that these women were not right for Bass. Not even in the slightest. And Charlie would know because she had been to a lot of functions alongside this specific group of women. She was the twins’ godmother; she tried to attend everything she possibly could when it didn’t interfere with school. 

Squeals and choruses of giggles erupted from the mountain of children on top of Bass’ body, drawing Charlie back into the present as her head snapped over. She forgot all about those vultures, strolling towards the kids when Abby motioned for her to come over.

Bass playfully groaned, “This is my savior? This is who you guys would call if I actually couldn’t get up?”

Charlie scoffed, “please. You’d be lucky to have me save your as—butt.” She quickly corrected herself, narrowing her eyes as Bass chuckled, hoisting himself off the ground.

Abby giggled, directing her attention back to Bass. “No silly, you’re the one who does the saving. You’re the knight in shining armor.”

A loud, unladylike snort left Charlie’s mouth, hand coming up to cover her face as she laughed. It wasn’t enough cover to protect her from Bass’ glower as soon as she started cracking up about the knight in shining armor bit.

“I don’t think Charlie needs saving.”

“You got that right. I think you’re the one who needs rescuing,” she muttered. 

Quieter than her usual volume, it was still audibly loud enough for him to hear. He didn’t have to follow her line of sight to know where she was looking. He could feel their penetrating, leering gazes upon him this whole time. 

He wasn’t really too concerned about it, not like Charlie seemed to be. There was a hint of jealousy in her voice, which was kind of adorable to Bass. “Well you can’t really blame them can you? Got good taste,” he cheekily grinned, which caused Charlie to roll her eyes.

It took every ounce of control in her body to contain a smile and not speak up in agreement. “I don’t know, you might be singing a different tune if you saw their last husbands.”

Just then, Abby bounced up to where they were standing with a sword in her hand. “Here Bass, knights have swords so they can slay the dragon.”

He took the outstretched weapon into his hand before jabbing it into the exposed skin of Charlie’s side. If he couldn’t actually touch her, he’d settle for teasing her. That would look innocent enough and not draw attention.

Upon impact she jerked her body to one side, muffling a small shriek as she glared. “She said it was to slay a dragon.”

Before Bass could respond, Abby interrupted. “Yeah and Charlie isn’t a dragon. She’s a princess duh!”

Charlie beamed at Bass. “See there, I’m a princess.”

“Princess pain in my ass,” he lowly mumbled under his breath so that Abby wouldn’t be able to hear the cuss word. He knew Charlie had a keen sense of hearing though.

Her hand shot out, catching him by surprise as she grabbed the sword, returning his earlier jab. Except, more forcefully and relentlessly.

“Abby, Charlie took my weapon.” He crossed his arms over his chest out of instinct as Charlie only laughed.

Abby just shrugged her little shoulders. “Mommy says not to complain to her when we’re fighting. She says to take care of it ourselves.” She looked full of pride as she reiterated, word for word, what she had heard Priscilla say many times.

“Ouch,” Charlie commented. “Not even Abby is willing to defend you. It’s cause she likes me better,” Charlie smugly grinned.

“On the contrary, she just gave me permission to do this.” His eyes twinkled with mischief, slowly sauntering towards her frozen form.

Charlie didn’t have time to question his curious look or even back away. Reflexively, as soon as he leapt towards her she angled her body away, intending to make a run for it. 

But Bass was smarter, and quicker though he had age working against him. When she turned her back to him it allowed Bass to sweep one arm under the bend in her knees, heaving her body up and over his shoulder in one swift motion.

This time she couldn’t contain her squeal when her back lightly thumped against Bass’ solid build. “Aaah, Bass. Put me down!”

His ironclad grip around the fronts of her thighs loosened just a bit, enough to make Charlie freak out, thinking he was going to drop her. “I thought you said to put you down?” The innocence in his voice irritated her even more; she was so going to get him back. 

“I meant on my feet,” she dryly pointed out as she hung in the air. She was much taller, and had longer hair than Jill. Her locks scrubbed across the grass as her arms flopped down with the pull of gravity. She felt like a limp, ragdoll in his tight embrace.

“Do that thing you do to me and Jill!” Abby gleefully cheered, clapping her hands as she giggled at the two adults.

Immediately Charlie groaned, she didn’t think Bass would actually do it…apparently she was dead wrong. Suddenly, she felt her body spinning around in circles, faces of more children coming into her swirled vision. “Ugh…if you don’t stop I’m gonna be sick.”

Bass scoffed, not faltering in his motions. He knew she was bluffing. He had seen this girl scarf down a whole funnel cake before being flung upside down on roller coasters. Eventually though he got tired and gave in to her persistent protests. Pulling her up, he flipped her right side up before bending down so that her feet could touch the ground once she slid down the length of his body.

She firmly planted her feet on the ground, but she was still spinning, adrenaline and endorphins pulsating through her veins. Tripping over her feet, she didn’t have time to warn Bass that she was falling. Her body crashed against his, both of them landing with a thud against the ground. Luckily for her, Bass broke her fall.

He let out a loud groan once his ass connected with the ground, followed by a short laugh. There was a trace of a smile on his face when looked over at Charlie.

“That’s what you get for throwing me around and spinning me upside down.” She grinned, sticking her tongue out before heaving her body back up. Extending a hand down to him, she roughly yanked his arm, but he was a lot lighter than he looked meaning he collided into her.

His hands sought out a place to land to balance himself, that place being Charlie’s hips. To be known as such a charming, ladies man, he couldn’t stop the faint blush from rising to his cheeks. He chalked it up to lack of oxygen and being overheated from running around so much, but that didn’t explain the tingling feeling surrounding his body. Of course, that feeling always arose anytime he was near Charlie, even after they slept together for the first time. He was insatiable when it came to her body, he would never be able to get enough to satisfy his hunger.

Lingering a little longer than necessary, his thumbs drew small circles upon her hips before he retracted his hands. Breaking their connection, his eyes quickly darted around to see if anyone was watching. And by anyone, he meant Miles. He wasn’t really sure how Miles would react to his hands being all over Charlie. That would lead to more questions than he was ready for, and the last thing Bass wanted to do was air his dirty laundry at a fucking birthday party.

Fortunately for him, Miles was busy stuffing his face, not even fully chewing before swallowing the food whole.

Bass’ light snort, chest rumbling, caused Charlie to turn her head, searching for whatever he was laughing at. Of course it was Miles. She playfully rolled her eyes, smile tugging one corner of her mouth up. That smile broadened, almost splitting her face in half when she looked over to the group of women. Their happy faces morphed into a nasty shade of green, reflecting their sour mood as they shot daggers in Charlie’s direction.

“I guess at least you succeeded in getting the hounds off my back.”

“I didn’t do it for me. I was just trying to help you from turning into husband number 5,” she quipped.

“Didn’t say you did it for you.” He grinned as the realization flashed across her facial features. “That was your guilt subconsciously staking its claim.”

“I don’t have to stake a claim in what’s already mine,” she saucily winked before turning her back on him.

He watched as her hips swayed more wildly than usual, which meant she was doing it on purpose. Leave it to Charlie to try and seduce him while they were literally surrounded by children…and Miles. Two could play that game.


End file.
